The truth about a complex built for veterans and the middle class and how it has evolved through the years to become one of the more interesting and controversial of New York stories.

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Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Variety is the Spice of Life

Taken in the last couple of days. Everything on the "service road" is considered Blackstone property, which I guess includes all the Citibank bicycles, the cars, etc. The images speak for themselves, of course. And in case you didn't know the history here: Peter Cooper Village was considered the upscale version of Stuyvesant Town. No more if the photos say anything. Urine all over the entrances, and concrete streaks and other quick fixes all over the place, to include gouges. I would not be proud of any of this, but I am me and not our masters.

With lobbyists, con artists and thick as thieves grifters running City Hall of course the city is in a shit-stained condition of disrepair. Anyone know what this lobbyist-city hall con was about? Is it a prelude to an upcoming "local lobbyist" little league sponsorship? Is this what we want as a role model for our kids?

STR, I should know better than to look at your photos before I eat my breakfast! Turns me right off!

I agree with 4:33 AM, they really are charging top dollar for what is nothing more than a run-down, badly managed project that could easily be a NYCHA project. I think they are letting the property slide into muckdom because they want to tear it down. I must say, though, that the dog shit is the fault of the dog owners. We can't expect PS to follow the dog owners all over the property and we can't expect the porters to follow them with a bucket and mop. We have some of the nastiest, vilest tenants living here, the likes of which we never had in the past when tenants were vetted and management wasn't desperate to rent and churn apartments. I put the blame on management fairly and squarely. That Heyduck guy is as useful as tits on a boar hog.

This is where having a competent property manager comes into play. Rick Hayduk will address these issues in due time and this property will once again be as clean as in the pre-dog days. If not, well that's why we have Little Dan and the STPCVTA in our corner. We're lucky to have them. You want more efficacy? Pay your damn TA dues.

Ya know what, if they don't care about dog shit outside the offices (it looks like their offices), then they don't care about dog shit anywhere. Right now, I have my windows open and can hear the riff-raff parading through the property yelling and screaming "Shut the fuck up" and clearly spoiling for a fight. This is the demo that Blackstone wants and we all have to live with it. This place has gone down the toilet and the fact that they are charging such astronomical rents to people who are so desperate to live in NYC that they will live in a chopped-up apartment where they pay through the nose for such conditions just tells me that NYC is ready for a reboot. It's the tenements all over again. The laws forbidding more than three unrelated people to rent a unit dates back to the days when the City was trying to clean up the tenements.

When you read up on the history of the people who turned this place into a tenement slum (Tishmans, Speyers, BenMoishes and the evil crew at CWC and Blackstone) you will see that tenements are what they specialize in and how they made their money. I don't think that Trump could do any worse than what these scumbags have done.

If you had to deal with the human garbage and despicable "bosses" that the porters have to deal with, you would have a different POV. True, nobody has to work here, but the job market ain't exactly friend these days.

Back in "the day," the porters, handymen, electricians, plumbers and landscapers were all unionized workers and their jobs were safe and they were well-trained. Now, they pull in anything with a pulse and a need of work (just like when they recruit tenants, they pull in anything with a pulse and a checkbook), and they treat them like shit.

Whenever I have a electrical or plumbing problem in my apartment, I call in somebody from outside to fix it. Sure, they charge a lot, but they do know what they are doing and are trustworthy. They are not day laborers off the street. SPS doesn't need to know when you get a professional in to repair something in your apartment. The cost of doing this is just the cost of living in a slum and not wanting to deal with slum employees.

June 1, 2017 at 6:55 AM the politicians rigged the system by writing laws where billion dollar corporation Airbnb is free from any accountability and billion dollar hedge fund landlords are free from accountability if Airbnb hosts operate in an unlawful way. Tenant renter bears sole accountability despite that landlord is supposed to vet the renters to assure our homes are safe from unscrupulous neighbors and Airbnb is supposed to vet hosts. Basically that screws all tenants because if you are harmed by an illegal hotel in the next door apartment then you can only pursue damages from the un-wealthy tenant host.

This system rigging by corrupt politicians occurred while Paul Weiss is law firm for Airbnb in court case with Paul Weiss BFF as "opposing" Airbnb hotels but not Airbnb Corp, Paul Weiss has supposed conflict of interest being the law firm for Brookfield Tenant Association Partnership (if indeed the Partnership was actually anti-Airbnb despite a lot of evidence to the contrary), Capalino & Co is lobby firm for Airbnb, Capalino & Co is lobby firm for Peter Cooper Village hotel condo developer, Bolton St James is lobbyist for Airbnb while Bolton St James family member is working with lawmaker who is implementing the Airbnb laws.

Tenants got screwed again no matter which side of the Airbnb argument you are on. Billionaire Corporations Airbnb and Landlords and their lobbyists and conflicted law firms who operate on both sides of the table wrote the laws.

Next time a politician campaigns on the system rigged, tell them it is because they rigged it for their corporate friends in exchange for higher office support.

"When you read up on the history of the people who turned this place into a tenement slum (Tishmans, Speyers, BenMoishes and the evil crew at CWC and Blackstone) you will see that tenements are what they specialize in and how they made their money.I don't think that Trump could do any worse than what these scumbags have done."

>>Police arrested four people for assault at the northeast corner of East 14th Street and First Avenue last Friday between 6:45 and 8 p.m. Police said that 19-year-old Yale Garner-Lowery, 20-year-old Jasmine Reyes, a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old girl attacked another man, causing cuts and bruising. Garner-Lowery allegedly slashed the victim with a box cutter, which was recovered from the scene. The names of the younger suspects are being withheld due to their young age.<<

And....

>>Police arrested 58-year-old Robin Merritt for burglar’s tools at the corner of First Avenue and East 23rd Street last Thursday at 8:21 p.m. Police said that Merritt was removing bicycle parts with a wrench from a bicycle that was locked up with a U-lock. Merritt was allegedly in possession of additional wrenches and other bike parts when he was searched and police said that he damaged the bicycle when he was attempting to remove parts. He was also charged with petit larceny, criminal mischief and possession of stolen property.<<

I will make a report with photos later, but this morning, aside from those rolling suitcases, I saw two bicycles on the Oval pathway (!), no lanyards being checked even though there were a few non-lanyard dogs, dog crap here and there (some crap not picked up for days)....

Bottom line is Blackstone is showing, in big way, that they don't care as long as the business of renting apartments is healthy. Yeah, they would love things to work the way they are supposed to, but they will not enforce those rules with any persistence.

Everything is fine and dandy for Blackstone. They are making a goldmine out of this dump. It doesn't matter what is legal and illegal, they just churn, churn, churn. I am sure that they can outlawyer us any time they want.

June 1, 2017 at 8:48 PM I just couldn't take the predicable BS that they peddle, though they can be "nice guys."

Or some really bad stuff is going to be exposed really soon so they are using the Oval Office BS Peddling as a we-care-about-you PR effort to put on a "nice guy" face to temper the not-so-nice-guy stuff they do that will be exposed to all.

We can no longer tolerate the hush hush secrecy cover up of these types of crimes and quietly executed arrests on low press news Fridays, whether in religious organizations, prep schools, universities, political clubs, Mayor's staff, or wherever. The children victims live with the consequences all their life. The perps should have the same life long consequences with transparency on all the criminals. This is not acceptable anywhere, especially in public office IT departments who are supposed to be held to the highest standards. A public statement from City Hall denouncing this behavior is warranted.

The 2006 Tishman Speyer plan. Nothing changed or will get better as long as the original investors are here thanks to real estate run City Hall. PCV ST is deliberately in disrepair. Lurking behind the scenes are the original investors since 2006. Total transparency on the deal would expose the corrupt players and politicians in the deal in bed together.

Blackstone is a tool, a mechanical money-moving tool of Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec Ivanhoe Cambridge (who calls the shots).

Ivanhoe Cambridge Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec is an original investor with Tishman Speyer in 2006 deals all tied to Stuyvesant Town - primarily in Washington DC and NYC. Some press:

"New owners" Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec is in on Tishman Real Estate deals ALL ALONG. And Ivanhoe Cambridge Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec boasts of their Blackstone deals including 50% partnership in StuyTown at $1.3B yet were absent at the politician's Blackstone TA 2015 press announcement, lurking in the background.

Brookfield and Tishman Speyer partner in many real estate deals in NYC and around the world. RE competes while colluding with each other. When City Council and T A partnered with Brookfield, for all intents and purposes they partnered with Tishman Speyer, REBNY, Ivanhoe Cambridge Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec on the original plan. The Tenant Association never disclosed to tenants the Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec investor or that in that in forming the Brookfield 2011 partnership the Tenant Association ceased their representation of Tenants and became a representative body of condo board investors with developers.

The same players move money between each other; create and then walk away from huge debts unscathed aided by wall street and hedgies eg Blackstone, BlackRock, Lehman Brothers, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche, Citibank, etc. Deutsche, Wells Fargo, Blackstone move a lot of Chinese and Russian money. All have bipartisan support which is the reason why there is low voter turnout from a fed up Citizenry.

Ivanhoe Cambridge Blackstone have to go away so PCV ST Citizens can own our homes in a Co-Op community without any of the Tishman-Brookfield-Tenant Association board members.

Surprise! July 2006 Tishman Speyer emerged as winning bidder for CarrAmerica's local portfolio, a "blockbuster deal". The NY-based real estate firm will pay $2.4 billion for an "undisclosed" amount of space. The total square footage would be between 5 - 6 million and will include the two Rockville buildings, Rockwall 1 and II, with 350,000 square foot owned by the Blackstone Group.

Surprise! "Blackstone and Tishman officials would not comment; a CarrAmerica spokeswoman could not be reached."

January 2010 Tishman strolls away from Stuyvesant Town mortgage obligations (but not from the property construction or collective un-named investor partnership lurking behind the scenes?)

"Tishman Speyer’s battle over Stuyvesant Town may have overshadowed the restructuring of its Washington DC assets, but the workout for the loan facility backing the DC properties is no less contentious.

Tishman and co-investors, including Lehman Brothers and Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec subsidiary SITQ, paid Blackstone Group USD 2.8bn in late 2006 for the CarrAmerica DC portfolio, comprising 22 Washington, DC-area office buildings. The buyers funded the deal through a mix of CMBS, mezzanine debt, a USD 370m term loan and a USD 200m fully drawn revolver."

Surprise! July 2006 Tishman Speyer emerged as winning bidder for CarrAmerica's local portfolio, a "blockbuster" deal. The NY firm will pay $2.4 billion for undisclosed amount of space. Sources close to the deal say total square footage would be 5 - 6 million and include two Rockville buildings, Rockwall 1 and II with a total of 350,000 square foot owned by Blackstone Group.

Surprise! Blackstone and Tishman officials would not comment; a CarrAmerica spokeswoman could not be reached.

Tishman and Blackstone on Washington DC, Rockville Maryland deals tied to Stuyvesant Town

January 2010 Tishman strolls away from Stuyvesant Town mortgage (but does it actually walk away from collective investor partnership that includes Blackstone, Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec Ivanhoe Cambridge, Brookfield, and many more un-named?)

"Tishman Speyer’s battle over Stuyvesant Town may have overshadowed the restructuring of its Washington DC assets, but the workout for the loan facility backing the DC properties is no less contentious.

Tishman and co-investors, including Lehman Brothers and Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec subsidiary SITQ, paid Blackstone Group USD 2.8bn in late 2006 for the CarrAmerica DC portfolio, comprising 22 Washington, DC-area office buildings. The buyers funded the deal through a mix of CMBS, mezzanine debt, a USD 370m term loan and a USD 200m fully drawn revolver."

2015 Ivanhoe Cambridge Caisse de depot et placement de Quebec says it is not only Tishman deals they are invested in but Surprise!

"Conspicuously absent were representatives from Ivanhoe Cambridge, the Canadian investment giant that is equal partners with Blackstone on the deal. Ivanhoe Cambridge‘s low profile over the past few days belies its financial clout. In the Stuy Town deal, it is investing 50 percent of the equity, or $1.3 billion, with Blackstone coughing up another $1.3 billion. And the Montreal-based company says it has invested in every Blackstone real estate fund to-date, meaning its real financial stake in the deal could be even higher."

part 3 the endSurprise!2017 Fortress claims it was more than "special servicer". Fortress claims it owned a "stake through its subsidiary CW Capital"

"In 2015, Fortress sold its stake in the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village complex — which it owned through subsidiary CWCapital — for $5.3 billion."https://therealdeal.com/2017/02/15/fortress-acquired-for-3-3b-by-japanese-telecom-giant/Fortress to be acquired for $3.3B by Japanese telecom giant

Investors, Developers, special servicers all "owners" all accountable and all making billions from the Tenant Association firm Paul Weiss, Ivanhoe Cambridge firm Paul Hastings, City and State Government engineered deal. Tens of thousands of tenants lost house and home while developers make billions, lobbyists make millions, politicians promote themselves onto higher offices and national platforms despite completely and totally failing citizens in entirety.

After only 9 months, we are not renewing. Here is my review: it looked nice, flowers and trees and parks. It got old fast. The noise, the never ending, fucking non stop banging noises from above and the sex cries from aside. I love sex but do i want to hear my neighbors every night and my kids too? The ac is the worst we have ever encountered. It's new but a piece of shit. Does zero to cool you off and also annoyingly loud. Yes, we tried to get these remedied, nothing worked. The family above our place has no carpeting and we thought we should as our lease stated, buy ours. Yet its very unfair others dont have to. Not going to renew. Done with this shit. All this and a twenty minute walk to a subway. Also, very little or shitty restaurants and bars here.

3:33 PM: Please post your post on Yelp and every other RE review site you can find. You are not the first or only person with this type of complaint and the more people post their honest opinions of this dump, the better.

Btw, one of my neighbors was constantly waking us with the sex cries, so my husband went up there and scotch-taped two cigarettes to the door with a note that said: "Was it as good for you as it was for us?" They toned down the passion a bit after that!

Maybe the Board of Health should inspect the grounds and cite mismanagement for allowing so much excrement to be left all over the place, especially if some of it is human, which wouldn't surprise me.

I will never eat at Oval cafe because I just feel that all that excrement and the flies that land on it and the stench and dust it gives off must affect the table tops, utensils and even the food. It also makes me so sick to stomach to look at it and smell it, that I cannot eat in the vicinity. I can't believe that some people take their children to eat in that establishment and will even have picnics on the grass. Don't they care about the health of their children, if not their own?

Until There Is Silence No More

The Tenants Association and our councilman Dan Garodnick have mysteriously remained silent about a purported incident that occurred on July 12: the mugging by a group of individuals of someone right by Peter Cooper Village, along 20th Street.

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"We'll be introducing a new process to identify registered dogs thus enabling Public Safety Officers to clearly approach offending dog owners. The registration will hang from the leash handle; clearly identifying the dog as registered.

"If the dog is not registered by May 1; a summons will be issued at the point of contact. If we learn the dog owner is not a resident, they will be escorted off the property."

Rick Hayduk, CEO and General Manager of PCVST. Letter to Barry Shapiro, February 2016.

THINKING of Renting in PCVST?

Read Yelp reviews to find out what it's like living here. Please note: All apartments are currently "rent-stabilized" but that doesn't prevent apartments from going up to 4K to 6K a month and even higher. How does this happen? Ask our politicians! Fact: Now less than half of the complex's apartments have the old rents and it's getting worse year by year--or better if you are the Real Estate Board of New York!

The Other Yelp Reviews

Yelp can be tricky and bounce reviews for a variety of reasons, like being a member and posting just one review. Very often, however, these reviews hold important truths about what's being reviewed. READ THESE TOO.

BICYCLES, MOPEDS, SCOOTERS, ETC.

Of course, "private property" but "public access" - whatever that means! And if a part of it is public access, do the rules of the city apply to our roads and sidewalks? Or does anything give because this complex is "private property"? Who comes here in case of a fire in one of our buildings? The Stuy Town Fire Brigade?

Hint: Look both ways if you are in the complex. Look on the ground, too!

61.03 Control of dogs and other animals to prevent nuisance. (a) A person who owns, possesses or controls a dog, cat or other animal shall not permit the animal to commit a nuisance on a sidewalk of any public place, on a floor, wall, stairway, sidewalk, lawn, garden or roof of any public or private premises used in common by the public, or on a fence, wall [or], stairway or entranceway of a building abutting on a public place

Banned & Oversize Dog Breeds in Stuy Town

Looks like there is some difficulty in enforcing the ban on certain dog breeds allowed inside Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village. Somehow pitbulls and pitbull mixes have been registered in STPCV and are allowed to be freely walked about the grounds! Registered dogs in the complex are max 50 pounds. Total, if there is more than one! More than two, it's illegal. It's going to get worse, and, face it, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village will never be like it once was.

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Read it and Weep

Current Value of ST/PCV

Was 5.4 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer bought the place.Became 1.7 Billion Dollars when Tishman Speyer left, with their tail between their legs. Of course, tenants now have to make up the loss.

Ex-landlord

Rob Speyer

1947 Stuy Town Plaque Honoring Met Life Chairman F.H. Ecker (Removed in 2002 and never seen again)

"... who with the vision of experience and the energy of youth conceived and brought into being this project, and others like it, that families of moderate means might live in health, comfort and dignity in park-like communities and that a pattern might be set of private enterprise productively devoted to public service."

I am writing on behalf of everyone at Tishman Speyer to express how honored we are to become part of your outstanding community. We are a business with deep roots in New York, a true love of our city and a great respect for the neighborhoods that make it special. We are committed to maintaining the unique character and environment that have made Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town such a wonderful place to live for so long. We look forward to providing you an extraordinary level of service and attentiveness that will be the source of pride and satisfaction for the entire community.

Neighborhood Recommendations

New to Stuy Town/Peter Cooper Village? Here are some basic recommendations.

Best supermarket: Associated on 14th St. between 1st Ave. and Ave A. The cheapest prices, fantastic weekly sales, very affordable lunches; solid, responsive management, but earthy. Some of the young female cashiers have attitude to spare, though. May be too far for Peter Cooper residents.

Best gym: Don't waste your money on the Oval Fitness Gym. Instead go to the earthy but real Asser Levy Recreational Center, right above 23rd St on Asser Levy Place (near the FDR Drive). $75 for a year's membership; seniors are almost free. Contains seasonal indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ping-pong table, two pool tables. Called by some rich people who wouldn't get caught going there "the prison gym," and you know why.

A Stuy Town favorite is Lenz's on 20 St. between the 20 St. Loop. The way New York used to be. Be careful of unwanted "pepper" in your food, however. Lenz's got a B grade rating and was temporarily closed down due to an order from the Health Department. Bruno's on First Avenue is more upscale, with a greater selection of food items (higher-priced, too), but was closed down temporarily by the Health Department. Stuy Town's own cafe was closed, too! And not because of all the dogs that hover and piss outside.

Gracefully has two locations, but we prefer for its size the one on 1st Ave. Prices are high and reflect the new tenants that are currently renting Stuy Town and Peter Cooper apartments. ("Do you have a credit card?") We like Gracefully's lunch specials, which are somewhat affordable.

I priced the CVS on 1st Ave near 14st. The non-aerosol hairspray was 20 cents above CVS' own website price, and one of the highest in NY. (Yes, I have hair.) You can save at least a dollar or more buying at another place. So beware. Look around for a better deal on all your items.

I love warm Quaker Oats in the morning. Gristedes is not the place to get it, nor is Associated, though their price is less. Look around!

Macular Degeneration Support Group

If you are currently diagnosed with Macular Degeneration, the New York Eye & Ear Infirmary is offering a support group for you. Conveniently located next to the Peter Cooper Village Stuyvesant Town apartment complex, our group offers the opportunity to share stories with other members, listen to expert guest speakers, and learn coping strategies to reduce stress. Our group runs on the first Wednesday of every month and we would enjoy seeing you there.
Please contact Baptiste Nicolas, Social Work Assistant at 212-979-4105 for further information and to see if this group is right for you!